Postgame Stats and Notes

Notes and statistics from the Giants’ 24-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys

The Giants’ four-game winning streak was snapped and they fell to 4-7. They are two games behind both Philadelphia and Dallas in the NFC East. They split with the Eagles and were swept by the Cowboys. They will take a 1-3 division record to Washington next week for their first meeting with the Redskins.

The Cowboys beat the Giants twice this season by a combined eight points. It is their first sweep of the Giants since 2007, when the Giants exacted some revenge by winning an NFC Divisional Playoff Game in Dallas.

Dan Bailey kicked the game-winning 35-yard field goal as time expired. It was the first time the Giants lost a game when their opponent scored on the final play since Dec. 4, 2011, when Green Bay’s Mason Crosby kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired. In Tom Coughlin’s 10 years as head coach, the Giants have lost two regular-season games and the 2006 NFC Wild Card Game to Philadelphia on last-play field goals.

Dallas converted 4 of 11 third down opportunities, including all three of them on the game-winning drive. Prior to that possession, the Cowboys had converted one of their previous 20 third down chances, dating back to their game against Minnesota on Nov. 3. They failed on all nine of their tries in their most recent game, two weeks ago in New Orleans.

The Giants won the coin toss and deferred, opting to take the ball to start the second half. They are 0-3 this year and 0-4 since the start of the 2012 season when they defer. They lost this season to Denver, Kansas City and Dallas and last year to Cincinnati.

Each team had 11 accepted penalties. It was the third time this season the Giants had at least 11 penalties. They had 12 for 136 yards vs. the Eagles on Oct. 6 and 11 for 92 yards in the rematch in Philadelphia three weeks later.

The Giants rushed for 202 yards (127 by Andre Brown, 75 by Brandon Jacobs). It was their highest rushing total since Oct. 7, 2012, when they ran for 243 yards in a victory over Cleveland.

Brown’s 127 yards were a career-high, topping the 115 yards he gained two weeks ago against Oakland in his 2013 debut (he missed the first half of the season while recovering from a broken leg). It was the third 100-yard game of Brown’s career; he ran for 113 yards at Carolina on Sept. 20, 2012.

Brown’s 21 carries is the second-highest total of his career; he had 30 rushing attempts vs. the Raiders.

Jacobs’ 75 rushing yards was his second-highest total of the season; he ran for 106 yards at Chicago on Oct. 10.

Brown also led the Giants with four receptions for 11 yards.

Jacobs broke away for a 37-yard run in the second quarter. It was his longest run since his career-long 73-yard run vs. Minnesota in Detroit on Dec. 13, 2010. His previous long run this season was a 16-yarder in Chicago on Oct. 10.

The 37-yard run was also the Giants’ longest run in 2013. It was the longest by a Giant since David Wilson ripped off a 52-yard run vs. New Orleans on Dec. 9, 2012. Jacobs’ 37-yarder is the only Giants run this season longer than 18 yards. The last time the Giants had a run longer than 18 yards was Dec. 16, 2012 in Atlanta when Wilson (25 yards) and Kregg Lumpkin (22) did it.

Eli Manning completed 16 of 30 passes for 174 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 92.9, his second-highest of the season. He had a 92.4 rating last week.

Manning’s touchdown passes went to Brandon Myers (his second of the season and first since opening night in Dallas) and Louis Murphy (his first, on his second catch of the season).

Manning’s two touchdown passes increased his career total vs. Dallas to 38. That is his highest total against any opponent (he has 36 touchdown passes vs. Philadelphia) and the most in history against the Cowboys (Jim Hart is second with 35).

Myers scored on a 27-yard pass from Manning in the third quarter. He caught the ball at the 10-yard line and rolled three yards as Dallas defenders Bruce Carter and Jeff Heath stood next to him – but neither touched him. Myers got up and ran to the end zone.

Nicks missed a game for the first time this season. This is his fifth year and he has never played a full 16-game season. Beginning with his rookie year in 2009, he played in 14, 13, 15 and 13 games.

The Giants tied their season-high with four sacks of Tony Romo, the third time in four games they had four sacks. Cullen Jenkins had two sacks, Justin Tuck had one and Mathias Kiwanuka and Linval Joseph split the fourth sack. Kiwanuka leads the team with 4.0 sacks.

The multi-sack game was the fourth of Jenkins’ career and first since Sept. 18, 2011, when he played for Philadelphia against Atlanta.

Antrel Rolle tied his career high with his fifth interception of the season when he picked off Romo in the first quarter. Romo’s pass bounced off Dez Bryant’s hands and was grabbed by Rolle, who last had five interceptions as a third-year pro with the Arizona Cardinals in 2007.

Rolle and Prince Amukamara led the Giants with six solo tackles apiece.

Steve Weatherford tied his career high with a 68-yard punt, giving him two kicks of that length this season and three overall. Weatherford also had 68-yarders at Cincinnati on Nov. 11, 2012 and at Philadelphia on Oct. 27. His final punt of the game in the fourth quarter traveled 67 yards. Weatherford averaged a season-high 54.6 yards on five punts.

Jeff Heath, the Cowboys’ rookie safety, scored the Cowboy’s first touchdown on a 50-yard return of a Victor Cruz fumble in the first quarter. The ball was stripped from Cruz by Orlando Scandrick. It was the third score by a Giants opponent on a fumble return this season and second by Dallas. On Sept 8, another safety Barry Church, scored the Cowboys’ final touchdown on a 27-yard fumble return in AT&T Stadium. The Eagles’ Najee Goode picked up an errant punt snap and returned it two yards for a touchdown in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, which is officially a fumble return.

The 50-yard fumble return was the longest against the Giants since Dec. 13, 2009, when Philadelphia’s Sheldon Brown brought a fumble back 60 yards for a score.

The fumble was just the second of Cruz’s career. On Oct. 9, 2011, he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter when the Giants were defeated here by the Seattle Seahawks.

Dallas scored its second touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Tony Romo to Jason Witten in the second quarter. It was the first touchdown pass allowed by the Giants in 20 quarters, since Jay Cutler threw a scoring pass to Brandon Marshall in the second quarter in Chicago on Oct. 10.

Romo and Witten hooked up for a two-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. In two games vs. the Giants this season, Witten scored four touchdowns to raise his career total against them to 10.

Center Jim Cordle suffered a knee injury in the first half. Kevin Boothe moved from left guard to center and James Brewer played left guard for the remainder of the game.

Dallas had a bye last week. Since 1990, the Giants are 8-5 when their opponents are coming off a bye and they are not.